SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VIII 



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SCOTCH pixE — (Pinus sylvestris). 

 The Tree: Like the Austrian pine, the Scotch pine was brought from 

 Europe for planting in this country. In Iowa it has been planted more 

 widely than any other evergreen tree. In its native haunts, on good soil 

 situations, it makes a fine tree of good form, but in Iowa a large ma- 

 jority of the trees show a crooked growth after they become 20 or 25 

 years old. It is commonly thought that the poor form of these trees 

 has resulted from using seed which has been collected from the low 

 formed trees in Europe. Altho the Scotch pine has been very serviceable 

 in Iowa for windbreaks and shelterbelts, it is probable that a number of 

 other evergreens would have given equally quick results and at the 



Fig-. 10. — 'A ten-year-old windbreak of Scotch pine. 

 this species have a very good form but the older tree 

 come crooked. 



Young trees of 

 3 generally be- 



same time the trees would be much more sightly after reaching an age 

 of thirty to forty years. On good soil situations the Scotch pine is 

 slightly slower in growth than either the white or red pines during the 

 first ten or twelve years. During the same period it slightly exceeds the 

 Austrian pine in growth. As a rule, the Scotch pine planter dislikes the 

 tree principally because of the crooked growth it makes. In the north- 

 eastern part of Iowa, or dry exposed situations, it can be used to ad- 

 vantage, altho the Austrian or western yellow pines should be given 

 pi-eference on difficult situations. 



The Wood: The wood of Scotch pine is moderately light, soft, knotty, 

 and is not durable. In Europe the wood is used extensively. In this coun- 

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